1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for compressing gas and for creating a vacuum, and more particularly to a structure which includes a rotor assembly having at least one cylinder in which a piston operatively connected to a rotating disk, reciprocates as a powered disk rotates about an axis parallel but eccentric to the rotor axis to enable gas drawn into the cylinder to be pressurized by the reciprocating piston or to be removed from a vessel to create a vacuum.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
Positive-displacement compressors for pressurizing gas are of two types: rotary and reciprocating. The reciprocating compressors are equipped with a piston in a cylinder and the inlet and outlet valves which necessitate a clearance volume between the piston head and cylinder head. This clearance volume lowers the volume efficiency of the compressors. These compressors can be single or double-acting compressors in which suction and compression take place on each side of the piston. The piston-crankshaft mechanism results in vibration due to a reciprocating mass center. Such compressors are usually suited for high-pressure low-volume services. The rotary compressors, on the other hand, compress gas by way of rotating shaft driving rotating elements. The sliding-vane and screw compressors are of this type, with no valves for the inlet and outlet of gas in a fixed-compression ratio. The high and low pressure cylinders in the rotary compressors are separated by a contact line compared to a contact area in the reciprocating type. Thus leakage is more likely in the linecontact type than in the area-contact type. High pressure cannot be obtained with a single-stage line-contact rotary compressor. Also, conventional rotary compressors are not operative at very low speeds.
Therefore, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a a rotary compressor in which the separation between high and low pressure cylinders is made by the area-contact surfaces, to produce a high compression ratio in a single stage.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a double-acting cylinder compressor with no valves in a fixed compression ratio.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a rotary compressor in which compression ratio can be varied according to the pressure difference of the compressed volume and outlet port.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a rotary compressor which is operative at very low rotational speeds.
The preceding objects should be construed as merely presenting a few of the more pertinent features and applications of the invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to both the summary of the invention and the detailed description, below, which describe the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.